Joy and tears as Geoff fulfilled his final wishes

Published on Sunday 29 August 2010 15:05

IT was supposed to have been the happiest month of his life.

First Geoff Mitchell would wed his long-term partner, then a few weeks later he would walk his daughter down the aisle.

The celebrations with friends and family were marred by terrible news though. Both ceremonies had been hastily arranged after Geoff, 50, discovered he was terminally ill.

His family say they have taken comfort in the fact that he lived to fulfil his two greatest wishes before succumbing to two brain tumours and lung cancer.

Mr Mitchell, from Leith, died on August 22 and dozens of family members, friends and colleagues in the council's refuse collection department said their final goodbyes at his funeral at the Leith Free Church at the weekend.

He was a union leader and committed Christian who helped hundreds of his fellow workers during the bin men's ongoing dispute with the city council.

His partner of 14 years Claire, 35, whom he wed in April, and his daughter Gemma Calder, 26, described him as "one of the greatest and kindest men you could ever hope to meet".

Mrs Mitchell said: "He was a beautiful person who lived life to the full.

"Just after he found out he was ill he said he wanted to get married, so we went to the Hibs stadium and said our vows in the directors' box. He loved his life and was a family man.

"He also knew how to laugh at himself, even at the end. He was always losing his false teeth. I remember when he left them in a napkin at McDonalds and then put them in the bin. Another time he chucked them away in a pizza box."

Mr Mitchell, who grew up in Wester Hailes, found out he was terminally ill when he went to get his arm checked by the doctor in March. After blood tests and a brain scan, he was told that he only had four to six months to live.

Daughter Gemma said she brought her wedding forward to May so her father could walk her down the aisle.

She said: "He said his final wish was to see me married and pregnant again, and I've done both those things now.

"My dad was the kindest, most selfless person. He was a shop steward for the union and he helped all of his co-workers who lost their jobs or had their wages docked and he'd always support the underdog.

"You can see how loved he was by the other bin men because so many showed up at his funeral.

"Even after his radiotherapy and when he was weak, my dad was upbeat. The last time I talked to him he told me and my little boy Joseph to go for a day out in Dunbar and take pictures so he could see them."

She added: "His faith gave him great comfort."

Colleague and close friend Peter Brown said: "The man could talk for Scotland, you just couldn't shut him up, but he was very clever and he knew what he was talking about.

"When he found out he was dying he was shocked, but very brave and at peace. He knew his God would look after him."